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Baby Esther Jones
Baby Esther was a popular entertainer at Harlem's Cotton Club 'in the late 1920s. Baby Esther interpolated words such as ''Boo-Boo-Boo' & 'Doo-Doo-Doo' in songs at a cabaret. Helen Kane saw Baby's act somewhere between 1927-1928 and had first used it in her first Victor 'release "'That's My Weakness Now" she then used it in the Broadway show Good Boy and had a hit with the song entitled I Wanna Be Loved By You in''' 1928 and became famous overnight. An early test sound film was also discovered, which featured Baby Esther performing in this style, disproving Kane's claims. Baby Esther's manager also testified that Helen Kane had saw Baby Esther's cabaret act in '''1928. Supreme Court Judge Edward J. McGoldrick ruled: "The plaintiff has failed to sustain either cause of action by proof of sufficient probative force". In his opinion, the "baby" technique of singing did not originate with Kane. Other claims asked to Kane during the trial were that an witness claimed to have heard the phrase uttered in a Edith Griffith song, another defence asked if she had heard a 1913 '''song called Bou Dou Ba Da Boum to which Helen had denied. Evidence Against Kane Edith Griffith, and Felix Mayol were also used as '''evidence against Helen Kane, but the old footage of Baby Esther performing the routine helped prove that Helen Kane was''' not the "'''first" Boop-Oop-a-Doop''' singer in the business. Gallery Miss Baby Esther Jones aka Gertrude Saunders.png Information Information provided by [http://www.inkwellimagesink.com/pages/articles/findingKoKo.shtml '''Ray Pointer](Fleischer Historian): The film of "Baby" Esther was a double system sound technique like Vitaphone. Lou Fleischer told me the whole story. The film did not "break" at the point of the''' Boop-Oop-a-Doop''' part. They did not show this in court. What happened was the print has been spliced in several places due to breakage and went out of sync at the''' crucial point''' due to the lost frames. Lou and Kitty Pfister, head Film Cutter stayed up all night locating spots to insert black film slugs to replace the lost frames to put the crucial spot back in sync. A new married print with optical sound was produced, the Paramount News Lab being kept open all night waiting for this to present as evidence the next morning. The remark about Justice McGoldrick being "bribed" is a conclusion not based on fact. There was enough remaining evidence to prove Miss Kane's case. However since there is a Film Faily Trade Ad that places a picture of Helen Kane next to an early version of Betty Boop. Further evidence can be found in the''' tampering''' with the original negative to "Stopping the Show", which was built around Mae Questel's''' stage act impressions', which prompted Max Fleischer in hiring her. This is the first official Betty Boop cartoon which consists of a series of contemporary '''celebrities'. Each is introduced by a photograph of that celebrity with animated lips and the voice of that celebrity coming from the picture. Only the voice of Maurice Chevalier is authentic. The voice of Fanny Brice is an imitation by Mae Questel. Oddly, the sequence begins with Betty going right into "That's My Weakness Now", a song made popular by Helen Kane. This song is not set up by the celebrity picture on the easel as the others are. You hear an audio splice from the audience applause going to the song. At two points there is a Long Shot, one of which Pans from the stage to the audience. In the backround is an image on a easel that looks like the image of Helen Kane. Why else would it be there? This direct reference to Helen Kane was deliberately removed from the negative so that a new print '''could be shown in court that would not indicate an edit. But it clearly was '''removed from the negative. Paramount took advantage of the''' ignorance of film technology''' on the part of''' court', which accepted what they saw not knowing what had been done to alter the evidence. Lou Walton '''Lou Walton' (Sometimes his second name is mistaken for''' Bolton)' was Baby Esther's '''manager'. Baby Esther did not attend the trial, but Lou Walton spoke in the Fleischers and Paramounts defence. Defence Attorney: What sounds did she (Baby Esther) interpolate? Lou Walton: Boo-Boo-Boo! (Recited Walton) Defence Attorney: What other sounds? Lou Walton: Doo-Doo-Doo Defence Attorney: Any others? Lou Walton: Yes, Wha-Da-Da-Da '''(Said Walton tiring a little) The court stenographer broke down at this point', He threw his hands into the air as a' gesture of despair and announced he would need aid in spelling the "'''meaningless sounds" . Walton could not give him any aid, Philips did however. Other defence witnesses were Bonnie Poe and Margie Hines who's voices were used in the Betty Boop films. The Afro American Newspaper (1934) In 1934 the Afro American newspaper stated: Baby Esther originated the Boop-a-Doop style of singing, and Helen Kane white movie an radio star barefacedly swiped it and made a fortune from it a court trial reveals as Miss Kane sues imitators, "Mae Questel, Bonnie Poe, Little Ann Little, Kate Wright, Margie Hines of the Boop style. T'would be logical now '''for Baby Esther to '''sue Miss Kane to even things all around. Meaning the newspaper stated that Baby Esther "should" have sued '''Kane, but she didn't, most likely because she was presumed''' "dead" by her manager, and probably didn't even know what was going on, because she used to perform in the Cotton Club in the early 20's '''and several years had passed since then. afro american 1934.PNG The Boop Song Is Traced Witness in Helen Kane's Suit Says Negro Girl Originated Style. Evidence that syllables '''similar to Helen Kane's "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" were sung before she began to use them was offered before Supreme Court Justice McGoldrick yesterday in the trial of Miss Kane's $250,000 suit against Max Fleischer, the Fleischer Studios and the Paramount Publix Corporation on the grounds that they imitated her (Helen's) style in the Betty Boop cartoons. Lou Walton, theatrical manager testified that Baby Esther a Negro girl under his management has iterpolated words like "boo-boo-boo" and "doo-doo-doo" in songs at a cabaret here in 1928. The Boop Song Is Traced.PNG Oyla (Cosplay Artist) A photo of a ukrainian cosplayer by the name of Olya Gussy who posed in several photographs as Betty Boop in which went viral and has been seen by millions of people on the internet where the photo has been mistaken as Baby Esther, and or Helen Kane. OYLA COSPLAY ARTIST.jpg Reason For Mistaken Photograph? The reason as to why the photoshoot of Oyla was mistaken for Baby Esther was because "[http://hellobeautiful.com/2014/09/03/betty-boop-was-black/ HelloBeautiful's]" Lifestyle Editor Danielle Young posted the photo of the "white"' ukrainian' cosplayer dressed up as Betty Boop and claimed '''it was Baby Esther without '''researching '''the '''origin of the photograph, which made people believe the photograph was actually "Baby Esther", and also lead people to believe Betty Boop was of mixed-race heritage/Mulatto. The Real Esther Jones Esther Mae Phillips originally born "Esther "Mae" Jones" sometimes referred to as just "Esther Jones" in her earlier career was a blues singer or more or less a versatile singer who sung soul music, pop, country and mainly R&B. Little Esther who had debuted in the 1940's as "Little Esther" and sometimes "Little Esther Phillips". Her career had kicked off in "1950" with her first hit record entitled "Double Crossing Blues". When "Baby Esther" Boop originator became''' viral', "Baby Esther" was '''mistaken' for "Little Esther" aka Esther Mae Phillips (originally known as Esther Jones) and Baby Esther''' somehow inherited the last name "'''Jones" from "Little Esther" due to confusion. In 1954 "Esther Phillips" was arrested for street walking and suspicion of narcotics addiction by Los Angeles police. Esther Mae Phillips died in 1984 due to''' liver and '''kidney failure due to''' drugs use'. Her funeral services were conducted by '''Johnny Otis'. She was buried in the Morning Light section at Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. The bronze marker recognizes her career achievements, as well as quoting a Bible passage: "In My Father's House Are Many Mansions" - St. John 14:2. EstherJones01.jpg EstherJones02.png Estherjones03.png EstherJones04.jpg EstherJones06.jpg EstherJones07.jpg EstherJones08.jpg EstherJones09.jpg EstherJones10.jpg Esyherjones04.png Baby's True Identity? - Gertrude Saunders Baby Esther may have been a "stage name" in late''' October 1934 a woman by the name of '''Gertrude Saunders not to be confused with the other actress and singer with the same name , Gertrude was featured in the Afro American as the Original Boop-Boop-a-Doop Girl. Gertrude was then referenced in 1938 where it was declared that she debuted in the Cotton Club '''and that she was '''figured prominently at the "Boop-a-Doop" $250,000 trial of Helen Kane and Betty Boop who both claimed they originated the funny twist which was also a radio rage. Gertrude declaired that it was "she" who actually started''' booping before either of them'. Gertrude was lastly referenced in June '''1950 '''as "'originator'" of '''Boop-Boop-a-Doop '''made famous by Helen Kane, and was boosted alongside other famous faces such as '''Ella Fitzgerald' and Rose "Chi Chi" Murphy who had also started to Boop, but instead of Booping she'd add her own twist which was Chi-Boop-Chi-Boop, as she was known as the''' Chi-Chi Girl''' which was a pun on the Boop-Boop-a-Doop Girl. Gertrude Saunders as Flo O' Brien (1939) In my opionion Gertrude Saunders a veteran actress of the stage a "coined" "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" which brought fame to Betty Kane (Helen Kane a mixture of Betty Boop and Helen Kane) is the real star of the "Swing Radio" despite all arguments the contrary she does a beautiful bit of show stealing. Adverbs for the Paramount theatre. The tabloid edition run "Swing Miakdo" simply billed as "Flo 'O Brien" because she was a sensational star. pits 1939 gertrude saunders.png Trivia *Gertrude had stated in 1938 that she had booped before Betty Boop and Helen Kane. The Real Boop Girl Baby Esther.png The Real Boop Girl Baby Esther 3.png The Real Boop Girl Baby Esther 2.png The Real Boop Girl Baby Esther 4.png the real baby esther boop.jpg baby 1938.png $250,000 Lawsuit *$250,000 infringement lawsuit Trivia *Scholar Robert O' Meally said, Betty Boop was an''' imitation of a imitation''' and had, as it were, a black grandmother in her backround. *Baby Esther was presumed dead '''in '''1934, just when the lawsuit had ended and didn't attend the trial. *Lou Walton testified for the defense. Walton testified that nine years ago in Chicago he taught Baby Esther a negro child under his management to interpolate "do-do-de-do-ho-de-wa-da-de-da" between the bars of music in popular songs, which means the scat lyrics produced wasn't actually Boo Boo Boo's & Doo Doo Doo, but later adapted to Boop. *Esther's manager also testified that Helen Kane & her manager saw baby's act somewhere between 1928-1929. *Baby Esther made funny expressions '''and interpolated meaningless sounds''' at the end of each bar of music in the songs that she performed to the audience in the Cotton Club in Harlem. *Baby Esther's photograph was taken by an''' African American''' photographer by the name of James Van Der best known for his portraits of black new yorkers, most of the photographs he took were around the Cotton Club in Harlem. Esther posed for James with a bouquet of flowers, the photograph taken is classed as Harlem Lady and Harlem Girl and or Pretty Girl '''and also '''College Girl which would indicate that if the photo was taken somewhere around''' 1927-1928', Baby would have been a young woman, most likely a teenager, as in her early cabaret acts in' the early 20's she was a child performer'. *Baby Esther is not to be '''mistaken' for Little Esther another African American''' child/teen performer''' who debuted in the''' 1950's', and is better known as Esther Phillips, who started performing from the age of '''14 '''in the' 1940's'. *The second name "'Jones'" was the real second name of "'Esther Phillips'". When Baby Esther became as '''viral online sensation' people thought that "Little Esther" and Baby Esther were the same person, thus resulting in Baby Esther inherting the second name Jones. *A woman by the name of Gertrude Saunders "claims" that she was the woman featured at the lawsuit event and claimed to have been the originator of "Boop Boop a Doop". Category:Article stubs Category:People